Spray iron

ABSTRACT

A manual spray iron that uses a diaphragm pump fluid-connected to the sprayer through a port in the iron and supplied from a water tank. The sprayer includes a tubular body connected to the iron and supplied through the port and topped off with cap means having an orifice and bearing against one end of the body. Within the body is a biased spreader means with grooves for fluid passage thereby out through the orifice. To this general conventional arrangement there is added the improvement comprising a spring-biased flat resilient seal member to close the port and containing means on the seal to permit fluid passage thereby when it is unseated. A common spring is used to bias the spreader and seal member in opposite directions and a filter means is provided upstream and directly over the port within the pump to cover the port entrance and intercept particles in the fluid from reaching the seat and orifice to provide an improved sprayer assembly.

States Ptent 11 1 Gowdy et al.

1451 Aug. 20, 1974 [73] Assignee: General Electric Company,

Bridgeport, Conn.

[22] Filed: May 7, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 358,064

[52] [1.5. CI. 38/775 [51] Int. Cl. D06f 75/06 [58] Field of Search 38/775. 77.l, 77.6. 77.83

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,183,611 5/1965 Swenson 38/775 3.373,5l6 3/1968 Knapp ct ill. 38/775 3,552,046 9/1968 Phifcr 38/775 Primary Examiner-Patrick D. Lawson [57] ABSTRACT A manual spray iron that uses a diaphragm pump fluid-connected to the sprayer through a port in the iron and supplied from a water tank. The sprayer includes a tubular body connected to the iron and supplied through the port and topped off with cap means having an orifice and bearing against one end of the body. Within the body is a biased spreader means with grooves for fluid passage thereby out through the orifice. To this general conventional arrangement there is added the improvement comprising a spring-biased flat resilient seal member to close the port and containing means on the seal to permit fluid passage thereby when it is unseated. A common spring is used to bias the spreader and seal member in opposite directions and a filter means is provided upstream and directly over the port within the pump to-cover the port entrance and intercept particles in the fluid from reaching the seat and orifice to provide an improved sprayer assembly.

4 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures SPRAY IRON BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The invention is directed to an improved fluid sprayer for an electric flatiron generally of the mechanical diaphragm pump-type whereby a pump stroke from a button on the iron handle directs water spray onto the ironing surface on each actuation of the pump. Each pump stroke should immediately direct a smooth homogeneous spray free of any globs or droplets and shut off cleanly with no dripping.

2. Description of the Prior Art It is common in steam irons to provide means to spray water onto the fabric being ironed since many fabrics cannot be satisfactorily ironed unless moisture is present in the fabric during application of heat. Thus, steam irons, in addition to dispensing moist steam onto the fabric during ironing, also provide a spray mechanism to spray water onto the fabric. A common system may use steam pressure generated within the iron to operate the spray and is known as a power spray. Other manual systems use piston, bellows, or diaphragm-type pumps connected to the water tank to provide spray operation. These pumps lift water from the water tank and pass it through a known spray mechanism as a fine spray. When tank pressure is developed in the iron during normal ironing operation, there is a tendency to unseat the one-way ball check valve in the sprayer because it normally floats within the tubular body of the Sprayer mechanism. The result is a dripping sprayer that does not completely shut off when spraying is terminated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Briefly described, the invention is directed to a manual spray iron which uses a diaphragm pump that is fluid-connected to the sprayer through a port in the sprayer and supplied from a water tank. The sprayer includes a tubular body connected to the iron and supplied from the port. Conventional cap means containing an orifice is screwed on to bear against one end of the body. A biased spreader means in the body has goooves for fluid passage through the body and out the orifice and to this conventional structure an improvement is supplied to comprise a biased flexible flat seal member closing the port and formed with ear means thereon to permit fluid to pass by the seal when it is unseated. Suitable filter means is provided upstream of the seal and disposed within the diaphragm pump and directly over the port to cover the port so the filter intercepts particles in the fluid from reaching both the seat and the downstream orifice. A common single spring means may be used to bias both the seal member and the spreader means in opposite directions whereby the filter intercepts all particles in the fluid from reaching the seat and orifice to maintain them clean and provide a sharp cutoff and a consistent spray pattern.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a partial sectional elevation view of the forward portion of a steam/spray iron illustrating conventional structure;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged partial sectional view of the sprayer mechanism of the invention; and

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT While the invention is applicable to a spray iron for any fluid, whether powered or manual, it is mainly usable in connection with a manual diaphragm pumptype spray usable primarily in a pressurized iron but is equally applicable to a non-pressurized version.

The present invention is an improvement on the general type of diaphragm-pump manual spray as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,183,611 and with the improved spray exit mechanism as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,664,045, both of common assignment. Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown the forward portion of a steam and spray iron having a handle 10, a cover 12, and a soleplate 14.

' Mounted in the cover 12 is water tank 16 with a water valve 18 in its bottom wall whereby water in the tank is dispensed through valve 18 onto the soleplate to flash into steam when the soleplate is heated by heater 20. A coverplate is normally fixed to the top of the soleplate to provide a path for the passage of steam from steam generator 24 to a plurality of steam outlets 26 where it passes into the fabric being ironed. In order to convey water to a fluid sprayer 28, a diaphragm pump generally indicated at 30 is mounted in a hollow forward handle portion of the iron. Water tube 32 connects the water tank with the sprayer mechanism through a uni-directional ball valve 35 which passes the water into the diaphragm pump 30 as seen in FIG. 2.

In order to supply water, the sprayer 28 is connected to pump 30 through a port 34 and the sprayer includes tubular body 36 connected to the iron through wall 38 and containing the port 34 so that tubular member 36 is supplied through the port. The sprayer also includes a cap means 40 having a flat outer end surface with an orifice 42 and telescopically threaded on body 36 all as seen in FIG. 2. The cap is threaded on the body to bear flat against one end surface of the body as shown. The spray is formed by a spring-biased spreader member 44 which has a flat end face abutting the inner surface of the cap and it has a plurality of radial and longitudinal grooves 46 by which water entering through port 34 is conveyed through the sprayer to exit through orifice 42 in a whirling action through radial grooves in the end face of the spreader to ensure an even and repetitive spray pattern.

In order to propel water through the sprayer, diaphragm pump 30 is actuated by a deflector 48 connected by ears 50 to spring-biased actuating linkage 52 to actuating button 54. The pump comprises a rigid shell 56 of suitable, usually concave, configuration and a tough flexible diaphragm 58, preferably of silicone rubber, which shell and diaphragm are peripherally joined in a water-tight relation with the diaphragm being movable by a rivet connection with deflector 48 as actuated by button 54 to suck water through tube 32 from the water tank, past ball check valve 35 on the suction stroke, and expel the slug of water through port 34 and the tubular member 36, around spreader member 44 and out orifice 42 for a homogeneous patterned spray. The structure thus far described is well-known and shown in the abovementioned patents.

It has been found that the sprayer mechanism tends to drip when any pressure remains in the iron tank even with the improved non-dripping structure of said US. Pat. No. 3,664,045 which is effective if there is a clean cut off of water flow. If any pressure remains with the prior floating ball-check valve structure as shown in the referenced patents, there is a tendency for the floating ball to become unseated and water leaks through port 34 and eventually drips from the sprayer mechanism. It is therefore necessary to provide a clean and leakproof cut off of water flow when the diaphragm pump is not actuated.

In accordance with the present invention. the free floating ball check valve in the sprayer is eliminated and is replaced with a shaped. preferably flat resilient seal member 60 designed to completely close and overlap port 34 as seen in FIG. 2 and press against it in much the manner of a normal sink faucet. This seal member may be conveniently formed of silicone rubber and is flat across its sealing surface for maximum sealing. In order to permit water to pass the seal when unseated by pump pressure, it may be formed with guiding ears 62 as shown in FIG. 3 to space it from tubular member 36 so that water may pass through to the spreader member 44 and thence out the sprayer. To provide positive sealing against any upstream or tank pressure in the iron, the seal member 60 is biased against the port and this is done by the same spring 64 that biases the spreader member so that the spreader and seal members are biased in opposite directions by common single spring 64 which bears on suitable shoulders on each member.

Because of the flat large sealing area provided by member 60 over port 34, it is possible for particles to become trapped on the sealing surface between the port and seal member 60 and defeat its sealing purpose. To prevent this, a suitable filter 66 is provided upstream of the seal to intercept all fluid to the port and is preferably disposed to cover the complete entrance to the port so that no particles can enter the fine sprayer mechanism. The filter 66 may be any satisfactory material such as an acrylic yarn or synthetic felt or other material porous to allow the passage of water and yet contain any particles. To hold the rather fine filter and maintain it directly over port 34, it is disposed within the diaphragm pump in a suitable molded or shaped portion where, being larger when placed in position, is deformed to the sealed condition of the pump and is effectively retained within the pump in the position shown in FIG. 2.

It will be seen that the improved pump construction provides a more positive seal against any internal pressure by providing a larger sealing surface, omitting the free floating ball check valve previously required, and using the same spring to bias both the seal and spreader member while disposing a filter member directly over the port to intercept all particles entering the fine spray mechanism. Consequently, it permits the passage of only clear water so that there is no contamination of the seal and additionally maintains the orifice clear so that it is not necessary to clean it out occasionally and the uniform spray pattern remains constant during operation. The invention is usable, whether or not there is any internal pressure in the iron, but is especially applicable to positively seal against any internal pressure and is easily unseated under the 30-40 psi generated by the manual pump.

While there has been described a preferred form of the invention, obvious equivalent variations are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practised otherwise than as specifically described, and the claims are intended to cover such equivalent variations.

We claim:

1. In a manual spray iron having a pump fluidconnected to the sprayer through a port and supplied from a water tank, the sprayer including a tubular body connected to the iron and supplied through said port, cap means with an orifice and bearing against one end of the body, biased spreader means therein with grooves for fluid passage thereby out the orifice, the improvement comprising,

a shaped resilient seal member spring-biased against said port. means on said seal permitting fluid passage when unseated, and

filter means upstream of said seal intercepting all fluid to the entrance to said port,

whereby the filter intercepts particles in the fluid from reaching said seal and orifice.

2. Apparatus as described in claim 1 wherein said seal member is formed with ears for the passage offluid thereby.

3. Apparatus as described in claim 2 wherein said spreader means and seal member are biased in opposite directions by a common spring bearing thereon.

4. Apparatus as described in claim 3 wherein said pump is a diaphragm pump and said filter means is disposed directly over said port and within said diaphragm pump. 

1. In a manual spray iron having a pump fluid-connected to the sprayer through a port and supplied from a water tank, the sprayer including a tubular body connected to the iron and supplied through said port, cap means with an orifice and bearing against one end of the body, biased spreader means therein with grooves for fluid passage thereby out the orifice, the improvement cOmprising, a shaped resilient seal member spring-biased against said port, means on said seal permitting fluid passage when unseated, and filter means upstream of said seal intercepting all fluid to the entrance to said port, whereby the filter intercepts particles in the fluid from reaching said seal and orifice.
 2. Apparatus as described in claim 1 wherein said seal member is formed with ears for the passage of fluid thereby.
 3. Apparatus as described in claim 2 wherein said spreader means and seal member are biased in opposite directions by a common spring bearing thereon.
 4. Apparatus as described in claim 3 wherein said pump is a diaphragm pump and said filter means is disposed directly over said port and within said diaphragm pump. 